???

Yep, that about concludes all the brain activity I have at the moment, but I'm still determined to get this done today. Today hasn't been the most fantastic of all days--Tommy's been missing his Dada and I've had absolutely no physical energy and the combination has made the two of us very frustrated with each other. Even simple things like reading a book turns into snapping and throwing fits. It's also super windy, so we've been kept inside the house, making matters even worse. So he just went to Nana's and I'm now trying to accomplish all the things on my to-do list that can be done from my butt on the couch. This is one of those things.

Just to show how badly Tommy wanted to leave the house, here he is trying to go out the door after Nana. He was so excited to see his car seat and put his sandals on, and then a little put out when she left without him (only to put the car seat in the car first).


Anyway, the past week has been pretty good. Seeing as I'm currently suffering from prego-brain (I think we need a scientific term for that, just to make us feel special), I can't remember specifics, really. But here are some highlights I CAN remember:

Tommy learned how to be "ferocious." I taught him to bang on his chest while yelling, as well as the stereotypical Indian war cry. Shad and I feel that both of these are an essential start to the skill set our little sprog will need to intimidate his foes when he enters the pirating business. And it's just cute.

Wednesday, after playing the piano for a double baptism, I decided to ditch the combined mutual activity (watching "17 Miracles") for something that I felt was more worth my time and of higher importance--family history. Nothing against that movie--I have heard good things about it--but, I've been being harassed by dead people. I didn't find anything new, but I got some names printed that are ready for temple work and I feel like they're currently appeased. Still, I will be ditching Sunday School and Young Womens whenever possible to hang out in the family history center and use their resources.

Friday afternoon we dropped Tommy off at his grandparents' house. He needed them and they needed him. He really missed them all week and when we stopped by on Thursday night on our walk, Bumpa wasn't there. Tommy refused to believe us telling him that, and so he walked all over the house looking for his Bumpa. He was much happier on Friday to see him there. Shad and I enjoyed a nice walk together, dinner and The Eagle, which we rented from Redbox. The folks brought Tommy home around 8 because he had been asking for bed. I love that he loves being in bed so much.

As far as General Conference goes, I thoroughly enjoyed Saturday's sessions. Tommy timed his naps almost perfectly. He slept through the whole first session and the last half of the second session. During the first half of that second session, he finally mastered the skill of walking with his push-pop vacuum thing. If I hadn't been so proud of him and happy for his hard work paying off, I'd have hidden the toy elsewhere. We did have to turn off his other noise making toys, and he was so excited to have them turned back on on Monday.

I really didn't get much out of Sunday's sessions because I was pregnant sick. Threw up right before the first session. Throwing up with such a big belly really hurts and I have a new-found empathy for women who are sick the whole pregnancy. My back and belly ached for hours afterwards and I was miserable. So I incoherently followed and took notes through the morning session and flat out didn't try in the afternoon. Goals I came away with, though, are to make wiser use of my time and to get the Young Women learning about family history work. I'll know better later this week what goals I get from rewatching Sunday's sessions with a clear mind. As a result of my being sick and confined to the couch, Shad made our dinner roast for us. I'll admit I laughed at him when he told me the ingredients and seasonings: potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, black beans and roast with garlic, salt, pepper, etc. Mostly normal except for the black beans. But then he told me he poured ketchup over the veggies and bbq sauce over the roast. That's when I laughed. Holy cow, it was AMAZING though! Honestly, I've never had such delicious, succulent, mouthwatering potatoes in my life. Soooo good! The leftovers are pretty much gone already.

Acting on my new goal of making wiser use of my time, I got back to list making yesterday. I did accomplish most of the things on my list. I read scriptures, relined waste baskets, made phone calls, cleaned up Tommy's room, cleaned up the living room and vacuumed, got caught up on dishes, finished my fall wreath, played with Tommy outside, made dinner and cookies, and delivered dinner to the Burris family. I was pooped and feel pretty certain that that's the cause of my physical exhaustion today. BUT the important thing is that I feel sooooo good about all of my accomplishments...and Shad has been wanting those cookies for a long time.
Now on to pictures--

Tommy has new dancing skills, which are no longer applied to only his 2 youtube videos. He'll dance to any music. And because his dancing is purely waving his arms around to music, he gets excited at church now when he sees the choristers conducting the hymns, and he dances with them.



Tommy often reminds me of Lucky from 101 Dalmations--you know, the puppy that's always up in front of the screen getting in the way of everyone's viewing. Tommy's not quite that tall yet, but I still always think to myself--and sometimes say out loud--"Down in front, Lucky!"


Tommy really likes the broom, and he really likes wearing his jackets on his head only.